INSIDE THE END. & CARHARTT WIP SCREEN-PRINTING WORKSHOP WITH DOLLY

Presenting a screen-printing workshop at 19 D’Arblay Street, just around the corner from END.’s central Soho flagship store in London, we teamed up with iconic workwear brand Carhartt WIPand up and coming London-based brand Dolly to deliver an insight into their visual world.

Renowned for her playful typographies and graphics, Dolly’s founder, Dolly Milkes, draws inspiration from ‘00s surf style, streetwear of bygone eras and a healthy dose of Y2K aesthetics. Building her brand from the ground up, she was quickly become a cult favourite in the Big Smoke, with her designs quickly being snapped up whenever she drops new product.

Offering attendees the opportunity to customise a variety of Carhartt WIP garments, from jorts and jeans to tees, bespoke co-branded graphics designed by Dolly were then applied to each garment in the position of the attendees choosing to introduce a further level of personalisation to the process. Sitting down with Dolly, we caught up about her brand and the inspiration behind the prints she designed for the END., Carhartt WIP and Dolly workshop.

First of all, could you introduce yourself, who you are and what you do?

I’m Dolly (sometimes known as Molly…), I run my own brand called Dolly whilst also working as a freelance graphic and clothing designer for other brands. 

Established in 2022, you’ve been steadily building Dolly the brand alongside a variety of other creative avenues. What originally compelled you to start a brand of your own? 

I was making one off pieces as a way to test out graphics/ prints I was making. Slowly people and stores were becoming more interested so I think that led me to producing more of a range. From that I’ve been navigating how is best to release clothes and in what format. I love the freedom and challenge. 

Centring around bold logos and prints, Dolly is powered by a distinctive approach to graphic design treatments pulling from ‘00s surf style and streetwear. What inspires your visual aesthetic?

Exactly that - it’s important to me that the clothes feel easy to wear too. The silhouettes are quite simple and I really consider the fit/ shape of everything. The graphics are definitely very sport/ beach inspired with bright combinations of colours.

Having worked in styling, graphic design, studio management and as a designer, how have your experiences of different areas of fashion contributed to your approach with Dolly?

Having done so many roles within fashion feels essential to me to be able to run a brand well. It’s definitely still a learning curve most of the time - it’s interesting applying everything I’ve learnt to my own brand rather than doing it for someone else. But feel grateful to my younger self for really getting amongst all the opportunities I’ve had. 

What has guided the prints you have created for the END. x Carhartt WIP screen-printing workshop?

I love an all over style print and experimenting with placement prints at random. I created graphics that could be layered and stamped over each other, which could be neat and simple or crazy and fully covering. 

Dolly, the brand, is well known for their pop-up events, having hosted in London, New York and Auckland – what do you specifically enjoy about the experience of running pop-up events? 

It’s really fun doing events IRL because otherwise the only interactions you have with people who support you is online. I love the opportunity to travel and meet new friends all over the world who are doing exciting things.